Chapter 2Giving Her to the Sea

"Jess."

Rainey was the first to notice me standing at the door.

Her soft call made the two men freeze, the cheerful smiles on their faces instantly turning into awkward grimaces.

Ben quickly hurried toward me. "Jess, is the baby okay?"

I didn't say a word. I walked past him, heading straight for my bed.

"Please don't be sad, Jess."

Rainey handed her baby to Nate, then reached into her bag, pulling out a delicate gold bracelet and a matching lock charm.

"Ben and Nate got these for my baby. They had them blessed at a temple to keep him safe and healthy."

"But I want your baby to have them instead. I am sure your little boy will get better soon. Don't worry."

I looked down at the gleaming gold pieces.

Before Rainey's baby was even born, I had watched Ben spend weeks meticulously choosing these exact gifts.

At the time, I foolishly thought they were for our child.

It was all a lie.

"No, thank you," I said, my voice cold and flat.

"Since it was a gift of love from them to your child, my son doesn't deserve to wear it."

Rainey's hand hovered in the air, her knuckles whitening as she gripped the gold.

"Jess, are you still angry with me? Do you still think I am trying to steal what is yours?"

Her lower lip trembled, and her face grew pale.

I wanted to laugh.

Had she ever stopped?

From the moment she was adopted into our home at ten years old, she had taken over my life. On her very first night, she claimed she was afraid of the dark, and my parents gave her half of my bedroom.

Later, when she caught a mild cold, she said she was afraid of making me sick, and I was permanently moved to a tiny, drafty spare room down the hall.

When I was thirteen, I scored the highest marks in the city. Nate bought me a limited-edition Lego set as a reward.

Rainey cried in her room for an hour, and by evening, my Lego set belonged to her.

My new dresses became her dresses.

Even the university I fought so hard to get into, she entered right alongside me, riding on the coattails of my family's connections.

And then there was Ben.

He was my childhood friend. When he knelt and proposed to me, I finally believed there was something in this world that belonged solely to me.

But it was only because of a stupid childhood arrangement between our parents.

How blind had I been? It took the mutilation of my own son to finally wake me up to the truth.

Seeing my silence, Rainey stuffed the gold lock into Ben's hand.

"Forget it, Ben. Since Jess is unhappy, you should take it back."

Ben's face darkened instantly.

"Jess, it is just a gold lock. If you want one, I will buy you another. There is no need to make a scene and ruin everyone's day."

I turned away, too exhausted to argue. My body was still aching, and my energy was rapidly draining.

I placed my baby gently into his bassinet, intending to lie down and rest.

But Rainey suddenly lunged forward.

Seeing her hands reaching directly toward my baby's bassinet, right toward his injured hand, panic surged through me. I threw my weight forward, pushing her away.

The next second, a stinging slap cracked across my face.

The force of the blow made my ears ring.

I turned my head slowly, looking at Ben. His hand was still raised in the air, his expression icy and furious as he held a trembling Rainey in his arms.

"Jess, how can you be so vicious?"

"Over a gold lock, you would put your hands on your own sister?"

"Do you have any idea how bad Rainey's back injury is? If I hadn't caught her, she would have slammed into the sharp edge of that table!"

Nate stepped forward, his eyes cold.

"I saw the whole thing, Jess. Rainey just lost her balance, and instead of helping her, you shoved her."

"You grew up in the same house, ate the same food. How did you turn out so incredibly selfish and cruel?"

"Apologize to Rainey. Now."